With a lengthy Adriatic and Ionian coastline, Albania is a small, mountainous nation in the Balkan region.
It has a Muslim majority, a legacy of its centuries-long Ottoman rule, along with the neighboring Kosovo, which is primarily populated by Albanians. The Orthodox and smaller Catholic denominations make up the majority of the approximately 17 percent of the population who identify as Christians.
Albania was a staunchly isolated state until it transitioned to democracy after 1990 under Enver Hoxha's Stalinist rule after World War Two.
After the communist regime was overthrown in elections in 1992, there was a rapid change in presidents and prime ministers in the second half of the decade.
The money that Albanians send home is still a significant source of income because many of them left the country in search of employment.
- Capital:. Tirana.
- Area:. 28,748 sq km.
- The primary tongue is. Albanian.
- Population:. $2.07 billion.
- the length of life. (Men) 74 years; (Women) 80 years.
Bajram Begaj is in charge.
Former army general Bajram Begaj served as the chief of the general staff of the Albanian armed forces before being chosen by parliament to serve as president in June 2022–April 2017.
Edi Rama serves as premier.
Three months after elections in which Edi Rama's Socialist Party won a resounding victory that ended eight years of conservative rule, Rama was appointed prime minister in September 2013.
Elections held in June 2017 and April 2021 resulted in a victory for his party.
In terms of lowering government spending and promoting public-private partnerships, Rama has pursued a neo-liberal economic policy.
In order to avoid the political strife and violence that tore the former Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s, he has argued that the European Union needs to hasten the Western Balkans' integration process.
Rama has also criticized Russian influence as causing instability in the area.
Internet usage is starting to overtake TV as the most popular medium.
There are numerous local stations in addition to the TV networks run by the public RTSH, including three licensed national private networks. Digital satellite and terrestrial packages are provided by two businesses.
The media are generally unrestricted, but press freedom organizations assert that media owners' interests may lead to self-censorship.
A few significant dates in Albanian history are:.
seventh century BC. - Greek settlements erected themselves along the coast.
167BC. - Territory Rome conquered. become a later component of the Roman Empire.
395AD. Albania is incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire, which later becomes the Byzantine Empire, as the Roman Empire divides into the West and the East.
c. 1190-1257. The Principality of Arbanon. Albanian state first noted.
1385. - At the Battle of Savra, Ottoman forces overthrow local authorities. Most local leaders end up as vassals of the Ottomans.
1415-1431. Albania gradually becomes a part of the Ottoman Empire.
1444-68. - Following the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Nis, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg leads a 25-year uprising against Turkish rule by uniting Albanian kings in the League of Lezh.
17th and 18th centuries. - Albanian Renaissance: thriving society and culture, as well as a rise in nationalism and independence movements.
1912 . Albania formally declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
1925-28. Albanian Republic.
1928. - Zog I establishes a monarchy in Albania.
1939 . - Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, invades Albania and adds it to its fascist empire just before World War Two begins. Zog the King flees to Greece.
1940 . - The Italian army invades Greece via Albania.
1941 . - Enver Hoxha takes charge of the newly formed Albanian Communist Party.
1943 . - After the Italians submit, German forces invade and occupy Albania.
1944 . Germans pull back. Enver Hoxha becomes Albania's new president after communist forces overthrow their nationalist adversaries.
1946 . - The removal of non-communists from positions of authority.
1948 . - Albania severes ties with the former Yugoslavia. Albania receives its first financial assistance from the Soviet Union.
1950-52 . - Right-wing guerrilla back landings in the US and Britain. However, a Soviet double agent working for British intelligence, Kim Philby, leaks information about the scheme to Moscow, and the security lapse results in the deaths of about 300 infiltrators.
1955 . - The Warsaw Pact welcomes Albania as a founding member.
1961 . After the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic ties due to an ideological difference, Albania allied with China.
1967 . - An aggressive crackdown on religious activity. The first atheist state was established in Albania.
1968 . - Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact in protest of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.
1978 . - Following a deterioration in relations due to China's reconciliation with the US, China cuts off economic and military assistance to Albania.
1985 . Enver Hoxha, a Stalinist dictator, passes away after nearly 50 years in power. Ramiz Alia takes his place.
1989 . - Eastern Europe's communist regime falls.
1990 . formed independent political parties. Travel authorization for Albanians is granted. Many people try to escape through Western embassies.
Numerous others seize ships and sail to Italy without authorization.
1991 . - In elections with multiple parties, the Communist Party and its allies win 169 of the 250 seats, while the recently founded Democratic Party wins 75.
1992 . - The Democratic Party wins elections. Sali Berisha, the party's leader, wins the first presidential election.
1999 . - NATO airstrikes on military targets in the former Yugoslavia. Thousands of people in Kosovo flee Serb force attacks. Albania saw a large-scale refugee influx.
2009 . - Albania officially joins NATO and submits a membership application to the EU.
2012 . - The remains of former King Zog, who passed away in France in 1961, are returned to Albania.
2014 . - The European Commission suggests Albania as a prospective member of the EU.
2019. - Albania experiences its deadliest earthquake in more than 40 years, leaving 51 dead and about 3,000 injured.
